F2P Spin-Off Total War Battles: Kingdom Announced

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The final round popped out as Philippa racked her Beretta M9’s slide. Clack-click ti-ting. That was it. That was them. Over. She spat blood and knew the warm wailing sirens wouldn’t arrive in time. She hauled herself to the keyboard and started to type, each letter booming like so many gunshots leading to this moment. “Warr! Huah! Yeah,” she wrote. “What is she good for?” Heh. Good…

I am grateful to The Creative Assembly for continuing to make big Total War announcements so I can continue practising my Pipfic. This time they’ve announced Total War Battles: Kingdom, a free-to-play take on battles and armies and metal hats for PC and pocket telephones.

It’s free-to-play doodad split between persistent city-building, as I understand F2P mobile-y games will have, and lane-based battles, as I also hear are popular. It’s the follow-up to 2012’s Total War Battles: Shogun, made by the same team. Where that was singleplayer-focused, Kingdom is made for online warring, complete with cross-platform play.

The Creative Assembly say it won’t be “pay to win”, as all units, equipment, bonuses for battles can be earned by playing regularly. Which sounds like “pay to not feel bored and inadequate and frustrated.” Look, you can read an FAQ to find out about all the ins and outs.

You can apply for closed beta testing on PC this-a-way, if you fancy. That’ll begin “early next year” and lead into an open beta.

I preferred the launch of Shogun 2, where torches would just bounce off of gates without doing anything.
That said, as with most people who complain about Total War games, I’m off to go play it right now.

I hope the opening paragraph is from an alternate universe Philippa that doesn’t write for RPS. The only war-themed memes for RPS writers are “WARFACE”, “War… war has changed” and “In the grim darkness etc.” Otherwise you’re straying from known RPS canon, and I will lodge a formal complaint.